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CentOS vs Flatcar Container Linux comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Flatcar Container Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 5.8%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Flatcar Container Linux is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Mahender Nirwan - PeerSpot reviewer
In-depth documentation available and command-line utility works well
One issue I recently faced, but I think it was due to my IT support guys, was that when the server storage gets full, the service crashes. It's very difficult to regain access and stability in that situation. That could be improved. So, the stability might be improved. But I don't think it's a CentOS-level issue. The system administrators need to come up with a solution for that, but I don't think it's CentOS's fault. I haven't done any research [R&D] on this issue. There's one thing for sure. We recently migrated from CentOS 7 to CentOS 9, and it was a bit difficult. For example, updating Windows is simple; you just download it, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. But that's not the case with migrating from CentOS 7 to 9. We had to back up the entire server, launch a new server, and then restore the backup to the new server. We couldn't directly migrate. I think that was a bit of a problem. The setup and updates are not that new in CentOS.
YD
The solution is stable and allows us to make needed changes
The development teams could sharpen their skills.  They should offer applications on the net I have eight years of experience with Flatcar Container Linux. The version of Flatcar Container Linux that I am using is stable. The scalability of this product is fine. It allows us to make the needed…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It’s a simple, straightforward implementation."
"The latest version of this solution has everything built in, making it comprehensive and very easy to use."
"The product is based on Red Hat and very stable."
"A valuable features of CentOS is that it's quite stable and doesn't crash often. It's also quite intuitive."
"If I need to install a feature or fix a server issue, I can easily find answers online. The CentOS community is also vast and helpful."
"I find the solution's stability to be the most valuable feature of it since I have been using a virtual machine with the help of the solution since 2015, and it still works on all the laptops in my organization."
"It's easy to install."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"Flatcar's support is good. The version I am using is stable and allows us to make needed changes."
 

Cons

"CentOS could be improved by being more secure. Of course, we use a firewall, but security is always a concern."
"There could be more integration features included in the product."
"The solution could be more scalable."
"CentOS is pretty old now, so I wouldn't recommend anyone use it."
"The product lacks a graphical user interface that can help users automate certain systems using the native features offered by CentOS."
"The price of CentOS could improve."
"The solution might be discontinued but I hope that IBM will continue to develop it and improve on the functionally and features."
"I would like the integration to be more secure."
"The development teams could sharpen their skills. They should offer applications on the net."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no price or licensing required — it's open-source."
"We are using a subscription-based license option for CentOS."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"CentOS is an expensive solution. There are other solutions that are rated at the top that are not expensive, such as Red Hat."
"CentOS is an open-source tool."
"CentOS is a free solution."
"There are no licensing fees for CentOS."
"The price could be better. The cost depends on how the organization or a specific person licenses it. If you want the free version, there's Ubuntu which is supported by forums. You can pay for the license yearly or pay for a specific version."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 24, 2017
It's improved our company's system environments that run Oracle databases.
Red Hat is mission critical to our environment Red Hat has improved the mission critical environments running Oracle databases, while CentOS has improved our web environment and MySQL. Oracle and SAP Environment and all HPC environments. 10 years No issues Very stable i don´t find any problem…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
11%
University
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is fantastic. It is an inexpensive solution that has excellent security, performance, and stability, and also lots of features. I specifically like that the solution has fe...
What do you like most about CentOS?
CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?
I am not responsible for the setup cost in my company, so I am unsure about the cost of the license.
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
CISCO, mettle, Microsoft, Upguard, GMX
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Canonical, Oracle and others in Operating Systems (OS) for Business. Updated: March 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.